Pain

Some things have occurred recently – here, there and everywhere – that have brought home to me just how much ‘emotional PAIN’ is a part of our lives, no matter how much we would like to avoid it, at some point it’s going to find you and most likely many more times than once!

It’s been a sad start to 2016 in many respects. In the news, there’s been the passing away of David Bowie, Alan Rickman, and Natalie Cole. Celine Dion has lost her husband and days later her brother. Of course, aside from the celebrity tragedies that we hear of, there are millions of ordinary people like you and me that suffer losses and PAIN every day – some we see on the news but the majority we don’t hear about. I know of several friends and acquaintances who have their own personal battles and subsequent PAIN, and I too have had my own struggles and my own PAIN.

All these things prompted me to put fingers to keyboard (the romantic in me SO wishes I could say ‘pen to paper’ but sadly not the case) and write a bit of a poem.

I am no great writer or poet, however, my motivation apart from the need to let these words in my head out is the hope that these thrown together words might encourage or inspire anyone who is in emotional PAIN right now to find the warrior within and fight the bastard off. Easier said than done in many instances, trust me I know, but our lives are far too short to let PAIN win and if let rule, PAIN can take us to places we just don’t want to go.

PAIN

Pain comes after injury
And not always the kind that you can see
It can be emotional, the hardest kind
The torture within our human mind

Emotional pain manifests as physical
Our heart and soul bound by a manacle
Heaviness descends through our chest cavity
and oozes into the cracks of our bones where nobody can see

It’s hard to wake, it’s hard to sleep
All you can do is breathe and weep
The day-to-day is hard to do
You move as if you’re stuck in goo

Like many things it’s a sliding scale
It comes in waves and will prevail
From mild to moderate to a severe blinding ache
It cracks you open like an earthquake

Knife stabs can pierce you at any time
You hear a keening like a chime
and realize hang on that sound comes from me
It’s the pain coming out for all to see

Brokenhearted, betrayal, someone hurt your feelings
Shame, embarrassment, regrets and bad dealings
Depression, anxiety and incessant worry
Err of judgment, mistakes made when in a hurry
Used or abused, taken for granted
Even worse if someone you loved had a hand in it
Illness and hardships
Doctors, drugs and hospital trips
And the ultimate pain, the loss of one we loved
All injuries … and into the pain pit we’re shoved

It’s tentacles can spread far and wide
It’s determined to show you that you can’t hide
From the rawness and brawn’ness and the power it can wield
It’s the king of the castle, bring out your shield

Pain, it can drive you insane
What if’s, why’s, and when’s, over and over, again and again
Pain, it can make you demented and mad
Making you question every surety and certainty that you’ve ever had

Pain needs to understand who is boss
None of us need to feel any more loss
than we already have so I’ve got to say
Listen up, I’ll try and show you the way

Well pain you listen here to me
There are some things you need to hear and see
You may be King but I am fucking Queen
And being puppet to your powers will never be seen

I raise my shield and I look you in the eye
Come get me you bastard, don’t be shy
I’ll fight you and hunt you like a hound
No-one trespasses on my sacred ground

I am woman and I am strong
The power you think you have, well you’ve got it all wrong
Something hurt me, I accept that to be true
But it won’t define me, I will build me anew

You can linger in the background and sometimes reappear
But you will never consume me, let me make that clear
Look in my eyes pain and then I dare you to come near
Didn’t think so.  Do piss off now.  That’s it, be a dear.

I’ve included this music video by R.E.M. – ‘Everybody Hurts’, as it seems so appropriate.

Ciao for now,

Linking up with Essentially Jess for #IBOT
and with Agent Mystery Case for #WorthCasingWednesday